July 21, 2009 Minutes of Meeting

Transcription

1 WOOD COUNTY SOLID WASTE DISTRICT 639 South Dunbridge Road, Suite 3 Bowling Green, Ohio PHONE (419) FAX (419) wcswmd@wcnet.org Website Ken Rieman Director Amanda Gamby Environmental Educator Patti Bowsher Office Manager P O L I C Y C O M M I T T E E M E E T I N G July 21, 2009 Minutes of Meeting POLICY COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Jim Carter, Chairman Brad Espen John Quinn Donald Bechstein Patricia Bacon Jack Ritchie Skip Baltz A meeting of the Wood County Solid Waste District Policy Committee was held on the 21 st day of July 2009, in the Wood County Commissioners Hearing Room, 5 th Floor, 1 Courthouse Square, Bowling Green, Ohio. Commissioner Jim Carter called the meeting to order at 8:29 A.M. The following attended COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Jim Carter, Pres., WC Commissioners Brad Espen, WC Health Department Skip Baltz, North Baltimore Recycling Donald Bechstein, Plain Twp. Trustees John Quinn, Mayor, City of Bowling Green Patricia Bacon, City of Northwood THOSE ABSENT: Jack Ritchie, Phoenix Technologies ALSO PRESENT: Ken Rieman, WC Solid Waste District Patti Bowsher, WC Solid Waste District Lauren Schall, WC Solid Waste District Judy Hagen, City of Perrysburg Erica Bruielly, WC Solid Waste District Deputy Tom Otley, WC Sheriff s Office Dave Spengler, BG Recycling Center Amanda Gamby, WC Solid Waste District Mick Torok, N.A.T. Transportation Kristin Tillison, WC Health Department Dan Raezer, Waste Management Steve Lonneman, Waste Management Andrew Kalmar, WC Commissioners Office Jen Philips, WC/DD C.E.S. Commissioner Carter began the meeting by asking for review of the minutes from the April 14, 2009 meeting. With no corrections, Brad Espen made a motion to accept the minutes and Pat Bacon seconded that motion. Members present voted yes, motion carried and minutes approved. Commissioner Carter moved to Item II, Budget. Ken Rieman discussed the Solid Waste District cash position to date and that figure has declined a little as expected. The District always sees the cash position go down at the beginning of the year due to per capita payments. The District has also had some cost reductions to try to bring the cash balance up. The concern is if the cash balance gets too low than the District will not have any money. Mr. Rieman also presented a chart that shows the District s cash position since December The chart shows that the cash balance went down to about $260, in January and February due to the payment of the Per Capita Grants. Mr. Rieman explained that the cash balance increased due to some major cost reductions which have enabled the District to maintain their current balance. Mr. Rieman said the reductions include the elimination of the Health Department support, suspension of the Solid Waste District Capital Grants ($400, over two years), reduction of the public information budget (advertising, printed material, etc.), and reduction of the equipment budget. The District has also suspended payments to the trust fund. Mr. Rieman added that significant reductions have also been made at the Wood County Landfill. Printed on Recycled Paper

2 Mr. Rieman then discussed some recent cost reductions which overlap between the Wood County Landfill and the Solid Waste District. The Litter Collection Program cost reduction was not funding the open position when Rod Konrad was promoted. At that time the recommendation was to support the existing program as a monthly payment in order to stretch out funds rather than paying a lump sum. The intent was to reevaluate the program at the end of the year unless conditions change. Mr. Rieman said another cost reduction is having the Education Assistant split some of her duties and to work at the Wood County Landfill to cut down on overtime at the Landfill. Another cost reduction Mr. Rieman mentioned is cutting back hours worked at the information booth at the Wood County Fair. There will only be one employee manning the booth at one time. This will allow more time for Mr. Rieman and Amanda Gamby to work on the Solid Waste Plan that is due in November. Those are some of the things that the District has done to reduce costs. Along with program funding, Mr. Rieman also discussed some of the program updates from the Agenda. Mr. Rieman proposed some requests to the Policy Committee for support to keep some programs running because of the reduced value of recyclable materials. The first program request is from Community Employment Services (C.E.S.). They take care of all of the school recycling for the District in Wood County, which is also one of the requirements of the State Plan. With help from past District funds to be able to purchase a truck or two, C.E.S. has been able to offer recycling pick up at all the schools. Vic Gable, the Supervisor from C.E.S., sent a letter to the Solid Waste District asking for a minimal subsidy support of $ per month to help continue the program. Mr. Rieman would recommend that they go ahead with that request which is minimal ($1, per year). The funding would help support the program to make sure that school recycling continues. C.E.S. brings in approximately one million pounds of recyclables per year to the Recycling Center. That is about one seventh of what comes in to the facility actually comes in through C.E.S. and asked the Committee if there were any comments or questions about the request. Commissioner Carter stated that he has not had the opportunity to know more about the request and that he is really not aware of exactly what the program involves. Pat Bacon asked Mr. Rieman if the school program is also part of that Plan. Mr. Rieman s reply was yes the Plan requires the District to provide recycling to the schools. Mr. Rieman explained that C.E.S. provides that service and does not know of any other way to provide that kind of service to the schools at that kind of cost. He said C.E.S. has some other subsidies to help them with their program but the amount they are asking from the District is minimal. The Solid Waste District is trying to maintain their compliance with providing all the services that the State Plan requires. Jen Philips from C.E.S. was there representing Vic Gable to answer any questions about the program. Ms. Bacon said that she is a little bit familiar with the schools involved from the reports presented at the Policy Committee Meetings from Mr. Gable. Mr. Rieman added that schools do not have much money; however, over the years the District has been able to provide the schools with containers and the recycling service. He said for a cost of about $1, per year, the request is very reasonable. Mayor Quinn asked Mr. Rieman what the Policy Committee is going to be asked to do today. Mr. Rieman replied that he is asking for some recommendations from the Committee for the Commissioners to support recycling. At this time, the District is going to have to subsidize the recycling in order for it to survive, which is their obligation as a Waste District. Mayor Quinn then asked Mr. Rieman if the Committee is going to be asked to make a motion over all the requests together. Mr. Rieman said that there are about four items that will be addressed today and he suggests that they be voted on individually because some are for more money than others. Mr. Rieman also said the Committee can vote on everything as a whole once he explains all of the requests but that it is up to the Committee. Brad Espen suggested they hear all the requests before making any decisions. Mr. Rieman stated that a lot of information is being presented. He said he had hoped to get the information to the Committee Members sooner but he did not have some of the information until the last minute. Unfortunately since the Policy Committee only meets a limited amount of time, he is bringing a lot of issues to the table. Commissioner Carter commented that the Agenda does not really specify what is being presented here this morning. Mr. Rieman suggested that if the Committee would like to meet again in a shorter period of time that is what they will have to do. He said that decisions have to be made soon whether the requests are supported or not. Mr. Rieman then presented some examples of what other waste districts in Ohio are spending per ton to recycle. He said the Coshocton-Fairfield-Licking-Perry (CFLP) Solid Waste District sent an about a month ago asking what other solid waste districts were paying for recycling per month. In 2008 the CFLP Solid Waste District collected 4,056 tons of residential material at a cost of $ per ton to recycle. Mr. Rieman said almost one million dollars was spent by CFLP to recycle and believes their operation is set up with roll-offs. As of the end of last 2

3 year, Lucas County spent $1,086, to recycle 11,698 tons of material (approximately $ per ton). Next Mr. Rieman discussed Wood County s recycling cost if they do include some of the subsidies being presented today. The cost to recycle 6,525 tons of recyclables in Wood County would be about $28.27 per ton or $184, yearto-date. That is much less than what is being paid in other counties. Commissioner Carter asked if Wood County s recycling cost is a proposed savings or actual amount. Mr. Rieman replied that it is proposed at this time because all they have is the Per Capita subsidy. Mr. Rieman then introduced Dave Spengler from the Recycling Center to discuss two requests for support for the Center. Dave Spengler first discussed the Glass Subsidy Request letter from Bill DenBesten, Chairman of the Bowling Green Recycling Center. He said at the last meeting he briefly mentioned some of the challenges that the Recycling Center is facing and that they cannot continue to operate at a deficit each month. The reduction of revenue from the materials they are selling is so significant that they have been reduced by about 75% from what they were used to only a year ago. They have put together two requests, one is concerning glass recycling. The glass storage area is full right now and they should be making some sort of decision to continue to collect or eliminate glass recycling at the Center. The Recycling Center has surveyed their customers and they have found that they would like the Center to continue to collect glass for recycling. The Recycling Center figures that there is about an $8, cost over two years to repair the equipment used in recycling glass. In addition, there is almost $11, in labor costs that must be covered as well. They have come to the conclusion that the way that the most cost effective and economical way to handle the glass is to pulverize and then sell the glass to the Wood County Landfill to use for temporary roads. However, they are still not covering their costs. Over the last few years, the other materials that the Recycling Center sold at high market values subsidized the cost of the glass. Mr. Spengler said the glass has never been a money maker and that is what the first request is concerning. The second request Mr. Spengler presented is for help to cover some of the Recycling Center s utility costs of approximately $1, per month. They would like to ask the Policy Committee to consider making a recommendation for the Solid Waste District to assist with those costs. Mr. Rieman also noted that the Recycling Center has stored trash barrels for the Solid Waste District for several years which required the Center to move the barrels in and out of trailers. However, the Recycling Center has a roll-off that is not being used and it was suggested that the roll-off be transferred to the Solid Waste District to make it more efficient. He also added that without a subsidy for glass, the Recycling Center is at the point of discontinuing accepting glass. If the community wants to have glass recycling continued, then there will have to be some help. Again, it is a reasonable amount of money that continues the program. Commissioner Carter asked whose decision it is about keeping or not keeping the glass recycling. Mr. Rieman replied that at this point, if there is no subsidy then it is the Recycling Center s decision. If the Solid Waste District and the community want to fund glass recycling, the Recycling Center has the people and the equipment to continue it. If there is no support from the Solid Waste District, then the Recycling Center does not have the resources to continue accepting glass and they must look at the viability of the entire operation. Commissioner Carter asked if the Policy Committee is supposed to make this decision or are they supposed to just give the money to them? Mr. Rieman responded that if the Policy Committee gives the money to the Recycling Center then the Committee has made the decision for them. Mayor Quinn asked where this money would come from. Mr. Rieman answered that the money would come from the Solid Waste District fund which is exactly what that money is intended for. The District is required by the State Plan to have a 90% access to recycling. However, Mr. Rieman did mention that glass is not designated in the Solid Waste Plan as one of the four items that they said they would recycle. That was done purposely when the plan was created because they knew that glass was never was going to be the type of material that was certain could be recycled. Some districts have quit taking glass. When the Recycling Center discussed glass recycling the last couple of months, the feedback from the community was that they wanted it to continue. At this point they are talking about an expense to fix that equipment of about $8, Commissioner Carter commented that each request being presented today is not a two minute discussion. Commissioner Carter suggested they need time to look at all the requests and will also need more discussion time before the Committee can make any decisions. Mr. Rieman said that out of all the requests brought forth at the meeting today the one that needs a decision fairly quickly is the glass recycling request. He is not saying that the 3

4 decision must be made today but if they are going to prioritize, that is the most important request. Commissioner Carter said that it is Mr. Rieman s responsibility to prioritize the requests for the Committee and then bring them for discussion. Commissioner Carter said he has not spoken with the City at all about any of the information about the community wanting to keep the glass recycling. It looks like a project that will cost a lot of money even down the road. Mr. Rieman said that at the last meeting the Committee approved $35, in labor support, which is what has been approved in the past. However, when the funding request reached the Prosecutor s Office, it was realized that bid limits apply (which hasn t been brought up for several years). The decision at that point was to reduce the support funding to $24, The other issue as they look at the Plan is that 67% of the required 90% recycling access goes through the Bowling Green Recycling Center. Mr. Rieman said if you look at the residential materials, 53% goes through the Recycling Center. Without the Recycling Center, the District does not meet the Solid Waste Plan compliance. Mr. Rieman strongly noted that Wood County does not want to be in the position of having the State write the Solid Waste Plan. The District would like to submit the new Plan in compliance with what the State law requires. The only reason the Recycling Center has been able to do what they have done is because they saved money when markets were good. There are very few facilities that can sustain themselves with a $50, loss over six months. Mr. Rieman said the reason it took so long to put the information together is because the sort line was going in and the Recycling Center was trying to establish labor and utility costs. The costs discussed today are costs based on the last three months of everything running. Mr. Rieman said the intent of these proposals is not to make a lot of money but to sustain them. If more time is needed to review the requests, Mr. Rieman suggested another meeting as soon as possible because the Recycling Center has to make a decision on the glass recycling soon. Don Bechstein asked if he had any information on if the intake of glass at the Center has increased or decreased. Mr. Rieman said that he estimates that the amount of glass accepted at the Center has remained the same over the years. The actual volume they process at this point in time is a little less because they are not bringing in anything from outside the county. He mentioned again that this is a situation where market values for some materials carried other materials but those other materials are not paying what they used to. Mayor Quinn stated that he thinks he understands a lot of what Mr. Rieman is proposing but he still does not understand that even if the Committee endorses these requests, where the money would come from. Mr. Rieman explained that the money comes from the Solid Waste Fees. He said if the District gets to the point where they are not in compliance with the Plan, then they will have a tough time writing the new plan and getting it approved. Pat Bacon mentioned that glass is not part of the plan, as previously stated by Mr. Rieman. Mr. Rieman agreed that glass recycling is not part of the plan and was not a designated material. Ms. Bacon said that she agrees she does not want to see the State write the Solid Waste Plan. Mayor Quinn said he is still unsure where the money is going to come from. He said there is no money to begin with and there are already financial problems with the Solid Waste District. Mr. Rieman said that the District has stabilized where they are at money-wise. They cannot go into deficit spending but they still have to do what is required by the Plan even if that means they have to adjust their fees. He said there are districts that are charging fees of $7.00 or $8.00 per ton with all kinds of implications. The District s biggest struggle in writing the Plan is going to be the funding, which they have not even discussed yet today. He said the Committee has a right to be concerned about the money but they have to make some decisions one way or the other. Mayor Quinn asked that if these requests are approved, then is the Committee going to be asked to raise the fees as well. Mr. Rieman replied that no not at this point in time. Pat Bacon said she had no problem meeting again next month to discuss these issues further. Brad Espen asked if the glass is sent to the Landfill, would that be a substantial increase in tonnage. Mr. Rieman said that it would be about tons per year increase in tonnage. The Policy Committee agreed to meet again. The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, August 11, 2009 and the requests discussed today will be on the Agenda for that meeting. Mr. Rieman then discussed the other request concerning funding for the Litter Control Program. He said that Deputy Tom Otley has made the decision to retire at the end of the month. If the program continues, the District 4

5 gave a recommendation to the Commissioners to support that program on a monthly basis. The District does not want to see a person placed in a position only to have the funds run out. Mr. Rieman said the Sheriff s Litter Collection program is not required by the State Plan. He said it is has been a very good program in picking up the trash, using the inmates, and also assisting at the Recycling Center. It would be nice to continue the program but the question is whether or not the District can afford it. It is another decision that needs to be made. Commissioner Carter noted that it was only a suggestion made to the Commissioners to only support the program on a monthly basis. Mayor Quinn asked if there is anything that the Commissioners have done already that should affect the Committee s decisions on what Mr. Rieman has talked about this morning. Commissioner Carter replied that the only other thing discussed was other changes that are being made out at the Landfill. He also said that Wood County is in fairly decent shape compared to other counties. He said things are not as good throughout the State as what they have experienced in Wood County. Commissioner Carter said he has started thinking differently about some of these items but still wants to make sure that they have the Solid Waste District s State Plan covered. Mr. Rieman said a lot of that has been done already because of reductions made in the monies they have spent. The District has reduced costs by approximately $700, $800, over the past couple years in order to maintain where they are today. Commissioner Carter moved on to the other items on the Agenda. He asked if there was anything with the Health Department that they need to know about. Kristin Tillison stated that the Health Department report is basically the same as it is every month. No major items to address. Commissioner Carter asked if there was anything about Technical Assistance or Education Awareness to be mentioned today. Amanda Gamby explained some of the changes being made to the Erica Bruielly s position as Education Assistant. She said that is essentially going to become two positions where Ms. Bruielly will be with the Solid Waste District part of the time doing the education program, and also working at the Wood County Landfill assisting with the pay-in and scale house operations. It has been a challenge trying to work around some of their previously planned events. Ms. Gamby also mentioned that they have also reduced the amount of hours that will be worked at the Wood County Fair. It is unfortunate because it is one of the biggest events the District has to interact with the public and to be able to personally answer questions individuals may have in the community. They will be limiting the hours worked at the fair to eight hours per day. Part of that is because of Ms. Bruielly having two positions and she will not be allowed to have any overtime accumulation at all. It can also be very difficult to flex time during fair week. The other part of that is Ms. Gamby will be able to be in the office more to assist Mr. Rieman with writing the Solid Waste District Plan. She also mentioned a presentation that has been presented by Ernie Stall from the Ohio EPA. His contact information is available if any of the Committee Members have questions about the Plan. As Mr. Rieman pointed out earlier, the State is requiring the District to have programs in place for recycling and then making sure that the public is educated. This is something the District has already been doing. Wood County has been a lead example on collection, recycling, and education programs. In addition to that the State Plan is requiring each waste district to have an education program that would consist of a website, community outreach, marketing, technical assistance, presenters, etc. These are some of the things that will be mandated as well as some of the other requirements that are in the Plan. In response to some of the hour reductions and budget constraints, Ms. Gamby and Ms. Bruielly attended a seminar on time management a few months ago. They have learned to track what they are doing during the day between the two of them. Doing this not only justifies two positions, but it also shows that besides the presentations and tours, they are also helping a great deal with the technical assistance and implementing these new programs to make sure they are working. Ms. Gamby also mentioned that they have been working with Jason Sisco from the Engineer s Office to help the County meet their Storm Water Management Plan reporting requirements. They learned that the Education and Outreach Programs they hosted meet 33% of the County s mandated storm water programs. Ms. Gamby also added that there have been some changes to the Landfill rate sheet and there is also an upcoming Clean Your Streams event. She said to sum it up the District still remains optimistic and they have been working to make these adjustments to still provide the type of programming and services that the citizens have come 5

6 to expect from the programs they have been offering. It has been a challenge and will continue to be a challenge but they are still trying to stay positive about everything. A detailed education report is attached at the end of the minutes (see pages 7-8). Commissioner Carter moved to updates from the Evergreen Landfill. Dan Raezer reported that they continue to see volumes decline. Their July volumes are down 37% compared to June which is a pretty significant drop. He said that is going to effect the Solid Waste District s cash position going into next month. He spoke with some of their haulers and they told him they are just not getting many business calls for roll-off containers. He said that is probably the lowest volume month in the three years that he has been with Evergreen. Mr. Raezer also mentioned that they have a gas expansion project that will be going on in the next few weeks. That project will help them collect methane from areas where they have placed waste. They also continue to operate in cell 11A, which is the cell that was constructed last summer. Other than that, not much has happened in operations since the last meeting. Mr. Raezer also mentioned the other item on the Agenda for Road Replacement/Heavy Loads. He said that they have an opportunity for a waste stream coming out of Detroit of incinerator ash. It is from a municipal solid waste incinerator that generates electricity and steam for the city. From that is an ash product that Waste Management currently hauls to a competitor s landfill. His company has permits in place to construct a landfill to dispose of this in Michigan. They want to internalize the waste until then, which would give Evergreen an opportunity for 1 ½ years of significant volume increase. They are looking at hauling it in on gravel trains, which is the preferred method of transportation in Michigan. It allows for heavier payloads and Evergreen needs permits to do that through the City of Northwood, the City of Toledo, and ODOT. They are in the process of obtaining those permits and potentially looking at seeing this coming in next month. However, it is a highly political issue in Detroit and it could get delayed. That would allow Evergreen to haul in heavier loads potentially looking at a volume of about 750 tons per day on average coming into the Landfill. Mr. Raezer also said that amount could fluctuate seasonally and is something that could be very beneficial not only for Evergreen, but also for the Solid Waste District. Steve Lonneman of Evergreen wanted to thank the Committee for their assistance in trying to get the State to listen to their plea not to raise the fees and the arguments that each time fees have gone up, their volume has gone down. Their plea did make it out of the Senate House Committee and went to the Governor. However, at the request of the EPA Director, their amendment was vetoed. He said there was no exemption for people within 15 miles of another state but thanked everyone for the efforts. Mr. Lonneman also said that as Mr. Raezer previously mentioned, they are down significantly from the budget planning. June was probably their biggest month of the year (unless the Detroit project goes through). He also mentioned that the new fees start August 1, 2009 but they do not expect the tonnage to drop right away. There will be customers that are going to figure out where their best economic option is and Evergreen expects to lose some volume shortly after that. Commissioner Carter moved the Litter Collection Program Update. Deputy Tom Otley announced that he made the decision to retire at the end of July. He said it was a long decision but the time has come and thanked the Commissioners, Wood County Sheriff, and Ken Rieman for all their support. Commissioner Carter told Deputy Otley to enjoy his retirement and Brad Espen thanked Deputy Otley for all his hard work. Commissioner Carter moved to Item VIII, Other Business. He mentioned again that the next Policy Committee Meeting is scheduled for August 11, 2009 at 8:30 A.M. in the Commissioners 5 th Floor Hearing Room. With no further business to discuss, Skip Baltz made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Brad Espen seconded the motion. All members present voted yes, meeting adjourned around 9:29 a.m. 6

7 WCSWMD Policy Committee Meeting EDUCATION REPORT July 21, 2009 A. Technical Assistance, Education, & Awareness Unfortunately the education program has been impacted recently by budget constraints. We have remained positive and cooperative with these changes and have been working to provide the same level of service and programming that our Wood County citizens have grown accustomed to while at the same time reducing costs. Changes to Education Position: 1. Erica Bruielly s position will be split into two positions. She will assist with pay in and scale house operations at the Wood County Landfill 8-10 hrs./week and will spend the rest of the week working with Amanda Gamby in the Education Program; 2. As a result of this position change, Erica will not be permitted to receive overtime or comp time and will have to flex all hours during the week. Schedules are being accommodated to allow for this and may result in less participation in evening or weekend tours, presentations, and events; 3. Erica will leave the office at 3:30 every day to drive to the Landfill and collect the pay in for the day and return it to the District office to be secured for the night. This is an attempt to reduce overtime hours acquired by Landfill staff; 4. Hours spent at the Wood County Fair will be reduced this year as well. Staff plan to open the booth from 12:00-8:00 each day and will work out a schedule to allow for Erica s new duties. Updates to State Solid Waste Management Plan: Work has begun on the District s State Solid Waste Management Plan. Ken Rieman and Amanda Gamby plan to write the majority of this plan in an effort to cut the costs of hiring an outside consulting firm. They have attended meetings on the latest updates and requirements of this new plan. A significant mandate of this new plan will be the expansion of the Education and Technical Assistant portion. A Powerpoint Presentation given by Ernie Stall, Ohio EPA has been included with this report. Excerpt from this presentation: Each SWMD shall, without exception, provide all of the following resources: a web page; a comprehensive resource guide; an infrastructure inventory; and a speaker/presenter. In addition, each SWMD shall provide education, outreach, marketing, and technical assistance on reduction, recycling, composting, reuse, and other alternative waste management methods to identified target audiences using best practices. Time Management/Tracking: In response to hour reductions, budget constraints, and new plan mandates, Education Staff have begun tracking duties, assignments, technical assistance, and the amount of time spent on each in an effort to best manage time and to further justify existing positions. Staff will also continue to track Year End Numbers, which includes the number of tours, presentations, ages and number of people reached, and all other types of outreach. Examples of tracking done so far this year are included with this report. Wood County Storm Water Management: Education Staff have been coordinating efforts with Jason Sisco and the Wood County Engineer s Department to help meet the state requirements for the county s Storm Water Management Plan/Report. Staff recently attended meetings hosted by outside consultants to better define each county office s role in this reporting procedure. It was determined that the Education and Outreach programs hosted by the two education staff at the Wood County Solid Waste District cover 33% of the county s plan. Examples of Best Management Practices (BMP Sheets) have been attached to this report. B. Marketing & Community Outreach 1. Advertising has been stopped at this point and we have begun to rely heavily on the District s website as a means of providing current information; 7

8 2. Clean Your Streams posters will be posted at several locations throughout Wood County promoting the event. A poster promoting the event has been included with this report for you to post. More are available if you have several locations or groups to distribute them to; 3. The Wood County Landfill Rates brochure has been updated to include the most recent changes and fees. A copy of this brochure has been provided for your reference; 4. All brochures, advertisements, reports, displays, and all other marketing material continue to be created in-house by the two education employees; 5. The office continues to receive new information on current recycling/disposal options available to local residents. Because the Household Recycling Guide is printed on an annual basis, the office has been providing a supplement guide to accompany the book. This has helped us provide the most up to date information in a timely manner. The latest copy of the Household Recycling Guide and the Supplement Guide are attached to this report. C. Events/Other Updates 1. The second annual Clean Your Files Day took place on Friday, April 17 th, from 10:00-2:00. The three locations collected over 1300 lbs. of paper to be shredded by Wood Lane s Document Destruction Department; 2. Assisted Judy Hagen with her Recycle Round Up on May 2, 2009, which was another successful event this year. We continue to update the Household Recycling Guide with options for residents to dispose of hard to recycle items on a daily basis; 3. The WCSWMD partnered with the Bowling Green Recycling Center to host an Open House on May 30 th to explain the recycling process and display the new sort line to offer an insider view of operations. An estimated 150 people attended; 4. Amanda and Erica attended an Educator s Workshop in June which has led to new partnerships and a creation of new programs within the Education Program. Would highly recommend this workshop to other educators in the state; 5. Attended the Wood County Employee Safety Fair on June 16 th where we distributed recycling/disposal information to Wood County employees and provided recycling for the event; 6. Partnered with Levis Commons to host an Earth Day Every Day Fair at their location. This was the first of what we hope to be an annual event. Over 20 local businesses and organizations hosted booths and activities for families to learn new ways to incorporate green practices into their every day lives; 7. Ken, Amanda, and Erica attended the annual OALPRP Conference and each presented at several of the sessions this year; 8. This year was the 9 th year for our annual Earth Camp! Sticking with the outer space theme for the Community Learning Center s Summer Program, this year s camp was named 2009: An Earth Odyssey. 150 participants rotated through several fun and educational sessions. The Learning Center s recently received a grant which will allow them to open additional centers. We are excited to expand Earth Camp even further next year to accommodate the larger group. D. Upcoming Events: 1. Wood County Fair: August 4-August 4 10, 2009: Our office will once again host a booth at the Wood County Fair. Due to budget constraints and personnel directives, hours spent at the fair will be reduced this year and promotional items will not be distributed. Brochures, Household Recycling Guides, and other materials will be distributed and an individual will be at the booth at all times to answer questions and interact with attendees. The office will also be working to coordinate recycling and trash collection efforts at this event; 2. Clean Your Streams: September 12, 2009: Working with Jason Sisco with the Wood County Engineer s Office to host a Wood County Kickoff Location for this year s Clean Your Streams event. Volunteers are encouraged to meet at Lake Township Friendship Park where they will be assigned a local stream to clean. A poster has been included with this report. 8